1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety barriers for blocking the gap between cars in an articulated train of passenger vehicles, such as subway or railroad trains.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Safety barriers for trains have existed for one hundred years or more, as evidenced from U.S. Pat. Nos. 251,189, Conover, 1881, and 269,839, Du Bois, 1883. Other safety barriers have been developed over the years as proposed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,142,264, Menden, 1915; 1,423,303, Brooks, 1922; and 3,532,063, Rowe, 1970. Although such barriers are effective, many subway authorities have not integrated safety barriers on their subway trains. Yet the lack of such barriers for the gap between subway cars is a cause of accidents. In Montreal, Canada, it has been reported that 20 visually impaired people have fallen between train cars of the Metro since it opened in 1967. A blind person was killed in this manner in the summer of 1994.
One can only surmise as to why the prior art barriers are not in use. The pantograph gates described in Menden, U.S. Pat. No. 1,142,264; Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,303; and Monger, U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,904, might be the source of other problems, such as someone's clothing getting caught when standing on a platform close to the gate. Furthermore, a child or even an adult might stick a hand or a foot in the spaces formed by the pantograph, which might become wedged as the train leaves the station, dragging the person along. The cables with hooks as shown in Rowe, U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,063, might have similar disadvantages.
The collapsible gates of Conover, U.S. Pat. No. 251,189, and Du Bois, U.S. Pat. No. 269,839, allow the gates to project beyond the lateral dimensions of the cars, which do not meet most specifications for subway or railway cars that require maximum widths on such vehicles in view of the sometimes limited space through which the cars must pass. The overall aesthetics of such cars is also a factor, and generally the prior art alternatives would detract from the appearance of modern car designs.